A few months ago, I read The Inkling, by K.T. Ivanrest. I’m going to share my extended review, but first (for the sake of context), a bit about my own reading tastes.
I’m not too keen on short stories or novellas; rather, I gravitate toward full novels, the sort with which one may knock out a platypus from a second-story balcony should the need arise. Furthermore, while magic systems don’t automatically turn me away from a book, I could do without most of them. I prefer stories driven solely by characters in their most human state rather than sparkling McGuffins, preordained destinies, or special abilities. So when I picked up The Inkling, a short story revolving, to a degree, around a magic system, I was prepared to be amused for an hour or so at best.
And then I read it.
And it flicked my humble expectations in the earlobe. (Since I know you’re going to anyway, I’ll give you a moment to flick your own earlobe and find out that it does, in fact, smart a fair amount.)
The Inkling follows the story of Yeta, an orphaned magic-user and university imposter who struggles to pay her debts to our antagonist, the city’s most dangerous crime lord. The story’s premise reminded me of Kvothe’s early adventures from Patrick Rothfuss’s fantasy tome, The Name of the Wind, which is neither a complaint nor a pointed finger, merely an observation for those who may benefit from comparative references.
Let’s begin with the magic system, since that was my biggest concern going into the story. I was pleased to be immersed in a magic system that didn’t revolve around ambiguous runes, colorful swirlies, or generic ancient languages. Instead, I found a protagonist who owns a mini-dragon spawned from magic ink, a fascinating take on both fantasy tropes. Moreover, the whole magic system revolves around ink, its different forms and types, and one’s ability to manipulate it.
As far as the story itself, I couldn’t help but feel that the setting and writing style outweighed the content. Yeta was a great protagonist with stakes and conflict I could connect with, but such a brief narrative simply didn’t allow for me to get emotionally immersed in her, the other characters, or the plot. That emotional engagement is what I look for in a story, so although I realize brevity worked against the author in that matter, I still wished for that chance.
Nevertheless, K.T. Ivanrest has a unique and polished writing voice that I genuinely enjoyed. There were multiple occasions where I stopped to re-read a line or two, appreciating its wit or quality. That’s not something I do often when reading indie fiction.
One minor qualm I had was the antagonist’s name. Malk. Now, I’m quite picky when it comes to names. And yes, Julian Smith is largely to blame (just run a Youtube search). Yet as subjective as this point may be, the name Malk made it hard for me to take the villain seriously.
My final rating for The Inkling was four stars out of five. I reserve five stars for stories that genuinely hook my emotions, and brief narratives such as this will always struggle to do so. Regardless, The Inkling is one short story I can honestly recommend for its unique takes on fantasy staples, its creative worldbuilding, and the author’s refreshing style.
